Cops Suspect Murder-Suicide in Killings of Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit and His Family

Tuesday , June 26, 2007

AP
source (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286673,00.html)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. —
Details of the deaths of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son may seem "a little bizarre" when released to the public, a prosecutor said.

Authorities were investigating the deaths at a secluded Fayette County home as a murder-suicide and were not seeking any suspects outside the home.

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "The details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre."

Those details may emerge after the completion of autopsies scheduled for Tuesday.

Investigators believe Benoit, killed his wife and son over the weekend and then himself sometime Monday. The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three different rooms of the house on Green Meadow Lane, in a subdivision off a gravel road about two miles from Whitewater Country Club.

The autopsies were scheduled to be done at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in DeKalb County.

Ballard told The Associated Press a gun was not used in any of the deaths. But he declined to say how the three died.

"We're pretty sure we know, but we want to confirm it with the crime lab," Ballard said early Tuesday.

Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell did not immediately return phone calls. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.

World Wrestling Entertainment said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received "several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning."

Pope said the three were found about 2:30 p.m., but he would release no other details about the deaths.

Stamford, Conn.-based WWE also said on its Web site it had further information on the deaths of Benoit, 40; his wife, Nancy, 43; and son, Daniel, but had been asked by authorities not to release it.

Benoit, a native of Canada, was born in Montreal. He was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles over his career. He was known by several names including "The Canadian Crippler."

"WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the federation said in a statement on its Web site.

Benoit was scheduled to perform at the "Vengeance" pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called "personal reasons."

Benoit maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.

The WWE canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.

Benoit's wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name, "Woman," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing story line on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said.

Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.

berkeley

06-28-2007, 11:08 PM

Fox News is reporting that it was posted on Wikipedia 14 hours before the bodies were found. :hmmm

SarahElizabeth

06-28-2007, 11:11 PM

Web Time Stamps Indicate Nancy Benoit's Death Reported on Web at Least 13 Hours Before Police Found Bodies in Her Home

An anonymous user operating a computer traced to Stamford, Conn. — home to World Wrestling Entertainment — posted an entry to pro wrestler Chris Benoit's biography on Wikipedia.org announcing the death of his wife Nancy at least 13 hours before police in suburban Atlanta said they found her body along with her husband's and that of their 7-year-old son, FOXNews.com has learned.

Reporters informed the Fayette County district attorney's office of the posting Thursday, and the agency forwarded the information to sheriff's investigators, who are looking into it, a legal assistant said in an e-mail to the AP.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show that messages from Chris Benoit's cell phone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the Wikipedia posting.

WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether Chris Benoit had one.

"I have no idea who posted this," McDevitt said. "It's at least possible Chris may have sent some other text message to someone that we're unaware of. We don't know if he did. The phone is in the possession of authorities."

Employees at Wikipedia.org said the posting went live on their site on Monday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Police, however, said they found the bodies Monday at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

The posting reads: “Chris Benoit was replaced by [Johnny Nitro] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy.” According to a Wikipedia.org report published after FOXNews.com made inquiries, the edit was reversed just under one hour later with the comment:

"Need a reliable source. Saying that his wife died is a pretty big statement, you need to back it up with something."

The posting apparently was made in reference to Benoit's scheduled appearance on Sunday night at an Extreme Championship Wrestling event in Texas.

An employee from Wikipedia.org told FOXNews.com that he called and left a message with investigative authorities in Fayetteville, Ga., at around 11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, after the posting was brought to the attention of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Web site.

“I chat with other editors on IRC — Internet relay chat — and somebody pointed it out to me on a relay chat and that it came from a Stamford connection, and that it took place at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Monday morning,” said Wikipedia.org volunteer coordinator Cary Bass. “I called and left a message with the police department.”

The computer-generated time and date stamp of the Benoit entry are listed as 4:01, 25 June 2007. Wikipedia.org lists its entries according to Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time.

Further investigation, according to Wikipedia.com, shows that one hour after the first edit reversion, another anonymous edit by 125.63.148.173 using unwiredAustralia.com.au, a wireless Internet service provider, was made adding about the aforementioned personal issues: "which according to several pro wrestling websites is attributed to the passing of Benoit's wife, Nancy."

That edit was reverted less than 20 minutes later, with the following comment: "Saying 'several pro wrestling websites' is still not reliable information." The second edit was made by a computer in Australia from a wireless network, according to Wikipedia.org.

A message left by FOXNews.com with Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department was not immediately returned.

Investigators so far have ruled the Benoit killings as a double homicide-suicide.

Wikipedia.org claims to be one of the largest reference Web sites, and is written collaboratively by users from around the world. Approved users can make submissions and change entries that are posted on the site almost immediately. Bass said the site is constantly monitored to correct inaccuracies.

Bass said when there is a high-profile case, such as the Benoit killlings, Wikipedia.org limits postings to registered users, which is now indicated at the top of the Benoit entry. According to the listed history on the Benoit entry, the computer used to post the 12:01 a.m. entry had a Stamford, Conn., Internet Protocol — or IP — address, a numeric designation that is assigned to every computer with an Internet connection, and that same address has been used to post about a dozen other messages on the site, dating back to May 16, 2007.

In related news, FOXNews.com also has learned, through widely posted Web reports, that former pro wrestler Sherri Martel, who was found dead on June 15, was linked to former wrestler Kevin Sullivan — ex-husband of Nancy Benoit.

Martel, who had a reputation as one of the top managers in pro wrestling, was found dead at her mother’s home in near Birmingham, Ala., on June 15. She was 49.

Investigators, who have not yet determined Martel's cause of death, say foul play is not suspected but that Martel did not die of natural causes.

Neck

06-28-2007, 11:12 PM

Fox News is reporting that it was posted on Wikipedia 14 hours before the bodies were found. :hmmm

Did he post it himself? That is the question. I think he was locked in a mind of hate and sin.......

berkeley

06-28-2007, 11:14 PM

Did he post it himself? That is the question. I think he was locked in a mind of hate and sin.......

No, the IP was traced to Connecticut.

jwharv

06-28-2007, 11:17 PM

This whole story has been bizarre............

berkeley

06-28-2007, 11:18 PM

WWE headquarters are in Connecticut. :hmmm

SoCaliUPC

06-29-2007, 12:36 AM

Berk....upon further review of the address...it is registered in New York....not Stamford. This is all under investigation.

berkeley

06-29-2007, 01:04 AM

Berk....upon further review of the address...it is registered in New York....not Stamford. This is all under investigation.

Still a way from Georgia...

MrsMcD

06-29-2007, 07:21 AM

It is so sad how messed up people's lives can become. It is even sader that they were given their son growth hormone shots.

QueenEsther

06-29-2007, 07:55 AM

I agree. It is sad.

QueenEsther

06-29-2007, 07:56 AM

Fox News is reporting that it was posted on Wikipedia 14 hours before the bodies were found. :hmmm

My husband said he read on the WWE's Website that he had been texting somebody before it happened with hints that something like this was happening.

SoCaliUPC

06-29-2007, 09:30 AM

My husband said he read on the WWE's Website that he had been texting somebody before it happened with hints that something like this was happening.

Nothing alluded to that. His texts to 2 co-workers (friends) at WWE came as the following...

2 from his phone and 2 from his wife's phone just stating..."My physical address is......." and 1 from his phone saying..."The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage door open."

There was no mention of what the inevitable was. These texts lead to his close friend approaching WWE officials because they were just weird.